Hydraulic press



L. A. MOLHN HYDRAULI C PRE S 5 July 11%, 1935..

Original Fild Jan. 28, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 law/702m Z 5 i: J5 MW L. A. MOLIN HYDRAULIC PRESS July 16, 1935,.

Original Filed Jan. 28, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 fizz/672L 02" 7 1 louzb/i ffalz'rz .0 MJFQ \N ww L. A. MOLIN HYDRAULIC PRESS July 16, 1935.

Original Filed Jan. 28, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented July 16, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFF-ICE HYDRAULIC PRESS Louis A. Molin, Chicago, Ill.

Application January 28, 1932, Serial No. 589,382

Renewed February 23, 1934 21 Claims. (Cl. 100-50) My invention relates to hydraulic presses and Fig. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal, vertical, cenmore particularly to presses useful as oil extral and sectional view; tractors for removing oil from vegetable 01' Fig. 3 is an nl r e r n v v w taken animal sources. along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

5 In th production of most oil of commerce, Fig. 4 is an enlarged transverse sectional View 5 an oil bearing material is subjected to heat and taken a g e l e f pressure, or to either heat alone or pressure alone, g. s a sectional w taken along the line to remove from the oil bearing material, in the of and most efiicient and economical manner, as much 6 is a p p v View Of One Of the 10 as possible of the oil ingredient. Substantially ments of the machine. 10 all the vegetable oils of commerce are extracts, cording to the ge al f a u of y e such as linseed oil, olive oil, cottonseed oil and tion, I provide a coil spring in the nature of a the like. Extracts'of oils are also made from Collapsible Screw diSlJOSed W t a Cu b cy n animal tissues, such as fish oils of various kinds With means for compressing the spring within the 5 and oils extracted from th fat tissues of cylinder under relatively high pressure. The coil mestic animals. It has been increasingly the Spring functions as a conveying mechanism for practice to employ h t and pressure or pressure filling the press and for emptying the press after alone, to extract oils, for the reason that the the 0111135 been extracted-- The Oil bearing most satisfactory il product is produced this terial is compressed between the convolutions of way. The pressure employed is usually a the spring, which serve as separating strips so 20 draulio pressure i relatively high pressure that the oil is pressed out under relatively high draulic press, wit t materials merely loaded pressure and has only a relatively short distance into a high pressur chamber, it takes long to to travel with the result that the maximum extract the oil, due to the fact that the oil flows amount of Oil is removedin a relatively Small only relative y slowly from the inside of the mass pressure interval- 25 when it is under high pressure. This difficulty In the dlfawihgsi I Show one embodiment Which has been obviated to some extent by employing ihvehhoh may take, in which the b Y plates for separating the material into a relatively lhder the Whole machine is disposed at an larger number of thin layers But this is not angle to facilitate the flow of oil through the curb satisfactory because of the relatively great length and for hther reasons which will appear ObViOuS- .30 of t and labor required to load and unload Referring now to: the drawings, particularly the press. Labor saving oil extracting mechat l and I Show an end frame member H, nism has been developed to avoid the diificulties middle suphorhhg member and a encountered with the hydraulic press, but these h h cyhhder which members form the new devices have not been satisfactory because pnhclpal shhporhhg means for the machine- .3 they produce an inferior product and Suffer in The hydraulic cylinder is formed with a relatively other respects short leg member I4 and a relatively longer leg The principal object of my present invention member The-rods two 1h number, are is the provision of an improved oil extracting posed between the end fl member 1 the 40 mechanism. legs; of the hydraulic cylinder, the t1e-rods .40

Another object is to extract oil by hydraulic 33: 2: Enough the huddle Supporting frame h but m P a as to permitrapld The curb cylinder consists of a plurality of Ionoading and unloading of the press.

Another object to provide improved means gltudmauy dlsposed curb members lsisurrouhded for loading a hydraulic press. p retammg rmgs the members I 8 and l 9 b 5 A th t i th r0 -Sion of on e preferably mounted together so as to form no er 0 we S p V1 substantially an integral construction, andIhave tractlng mechanlsm which can be operated with found that brazing or Welding can be used for a mimmum of labor. the purpose. The curb assembly, comprising the Other ob ects and features of the 1nvent1on W111 curb members 3 and m is Secured to the front so be appa from e following detailed descripframe casting l l by cap screws 2 I. The rear end tion taken with t a p y ng drawings, of the curb assembly, separatedfrom the front wherein i end by a worm gear as will be hereinafter de- Fig. 1 1s a side elevational view showing the scribed, lssecured to an annular curb casting complete oil extracting mechanism; 22 by cap screws 23, the adjacent retaining ring 5 cylinder.

I9 and portion of the curb casting 22 resting on the middle or intermediate supporting member l2, as on a saddle. The frame member I i has a plurality of ears 24 (Fig. 1) and the hydraulic cylinder l3 has a plurality of aligned cars 26. Tierods 21 are disposed between the ears 24 and 2t and are provided with nuts 28 and 2s. These tierods take up the thrust of the hydraulic piston during the pressure period. fhe curb casting 22 also has a plurality of cars provided with bosses through which the tie-rods 21 pass.

The flat spiral spring 3!, having a number of functions which will be described, is disposed within the curb cylinder. Immediately within the spiral spring or coil is a steam cylinder 32. One end of the steam cylinder is supported within a circular portion of the frame member II. A cylinder head 33 is secured to the steam cylinder 32 by cap screws 34 and the head projects peripherally beyond the steam cylinder and is secured to the circular portion of the frame member II by cap screws 35.

Within the hydraulic cylinder i3, I dispose a hydraulic ram 31. The hydraulic ram is reciprocable withinv the cylinder and is adapted to be forced in a direction to compress the spiral coil by oil 'under pressure admitted to pipe 33. A packing ring 39 is secured at the end of the hydraulic cylinder by cap screws ll. This packing ring engages the hydraulic ram snugly, and assists in preventing the oil under pressure from passing out of the hydraulic cylinder at this point. Any of the usual packing means for a hydraulic ram are, of course, to be used- The steam cylinder 32 is supplied with steam from a pipe 42, the purpose of the steam being to impart heat through the cylinder walls to the ma terial contained between the sections of the coil for facilitating the extraction of oil therefrom. I also employ this steam cylinder for the purpose of returning the hydraulic ram. Within the steam cylinder is a steam piston 43 provided with a suitable packing ring 44 and having a piston rod 46 extending within the hydraulic ram 3? and connected to the end thereof. A permanent con nection may be made to the ram, but in general I have found that merely a butt engagement is suificient for my purpose. The piston rod 46 has some play in the opening provided in the end of the steam cylinder, but, to prevent the possibility of steam entering the ram, I provide a boss 4?, into which is threaded a piston rod packing gland 48. I also provide a duct 49 in the wall of the steam: cylinder but having a connection with the interior of the cylinder at a point behind the pis ton 43. Any condensate from steam which passes the piston 43 can therefore escape through the duct 49.

It may at times be necessary to replace the packing in the gland 48. To accomplish this, I provide a split ring extension 5! on the hydraulic ram. This split ring is secured to the ram by screws 52 (Fig. 5). The split ring extension is easily removed for the purpose of adjusting or replacing the gland 48; This extension, however, engages against the end of the coil 3! when the hydraulic ram 31 is advanced, serving to compress the coil and any material between the sections of the coil. 7

The longitudinal curb members it are spaced in such a way as to have an open area 53 of general triangular cross section with the apex of the triangle pointing toward the axis of the steam 7 At the apex, I provide a relatively small space, not more than about five thousandths of an inch, this space extending the full length of the longitudinal members. Accordingly it will be seen that by the application of pressure to the material between the sections of the coil, the oil forced therefrom will pass out between the curb members. This oil will tend to drop by gravity, and I provide a. trough 54 for catching the oil immediately beneath the curb cylinder. This trough is suitably supported between the frame members II and i2, and has'a spout 5G through which oil is delivered to a suitable reservoir (not shown).

I do not depend upon the spiral coil only for applying pressure to the oil bearing material, but also make use of the coil for loading and unloading the press.

Entirely surrounding the longitudinal curb members, intermediate their ends, I provide a large Worm gear 5?, which is supported on rollers 58, having their support within the adjacent retaining rings l9. These rollers are journaled on stub shafts 59, screwed into the worm gear 51.

Additional support is provided at 60 on the inner ends of the two curb sections, where'the curb'is cut out to provide a bearing surface for the gear. This worm gear is adapted to berotated by a worm til, mounted on a shaft 62 of an electric member 63. This member is suitably supported and is adapted to be driven in either direction or may be provided with any suitable type of reversing gears, whereby the worm 5| may be turned in either direction. From this arrangement, it

will be seen that by suitable connection between the worm gear 5'3 and the spiral coil, this spiral coil may be made to rotate in either direction. When rotating, it serves as a conveyor and may be used to convey material in a direction either to replenish or load the press, or to discharge the residue material after the oil has been extracted.

To drive the coil 3| from the worm gear-51,1 provide a plurality of key-ways 64 on the exterior of the coil sections or convolutions, and secure to the worm gear 5? a plurality of keys 66, which extend into the key-ways in the coil sections to drive the coil. The worm gear '51' is finished on the under surface 51 to correspond to the longitudinal curb members l8, having similar spaces, so that there is no dead space at the gear 5'5, which would prevent the fiow of oil at this point. It will be seen that the entire coil is provided with key-ways (Fig. 2) so that, as the coil is compressed, the keys 66 can clear1the convolutions of the coil; The worm gear 51 is located at substantially the most advancedposition of the hydraulic ram and so the. hydraulic ram need not be provided with keyways or slots, as it is not at any time required to overlap the keys 66. If it is found advisable to relocate the drive or the coil, however, it may be found necessary to slot the ram extension 52' or possibly the ram proper 37-. Although I have described the coil 3| as used in the present type of press generally known as a horizontal press, it is understood of course that I contemplate the use of such a coil member in a hydraulic press generally referred to in the art as the vertical type.

In order to supply the press with oil bearing material and to extract the residue, I provide openings in the curb cylinder assembly for this purpose. The curb casting 22 is provided with a material inlet 61, above which is supported a funnel or delivery chute 68. Immediately below the delivery opening 67 is a discharge opening 68, through which the residue material is chscharged. I provide a sliding closure- H, which is disposed 2,008,080 between the curb casting 22 on the outside. and

the coil and ram extension 52 on the inside. This closure is providedwith a pair of openings 12 and 13, which are adapted to be brought in alignment with either the discharge opening 69 or the charging opening 61, respectively. A closure controlling handle .14 is provided, which is used for rotating the closure member 1| to control the openings.

When the oilbearing material is delivered to the charging opening 61, through the chute or funnel 68, it is usually in a warm, compressible and finely divided condition or in a condition to facilitate the conveying action of the spiral coil, so that charging of the mechanismis relatively simple and easy, as long as the material is merely delivered to the charging opening 61 in such a way as to feed itself by gravity down into the space between the coil sections. After the material has been compressed,.however, it is in the form of a relatively large, hard, solid incom pressible cake, and may have a tendency to adhere somewhat to the surfaces of the spiral coil. Whatever the condition, it is found to be somewhat more diiiicult to discharge the residue than to feed the initial material. I provide auxiliary means to facilitate removal of substantially all vestiges of the residue material. This feature I refer to is a breaker bar, which breaker bar is indicated by the reference character '16 (Figs. 2, 3 and 6). The function of the breaker bar is to be engaged between the convolutions of the coil, and, as the coil is turned, to be advanced from one end of the coil to the other, so as to come in contact with all of the coil faces and remove any material which may adhere thereto. The breaker bar, therefore, is provided with a breaker bar guide TI which lies in a slot 18 in the outer Wall of the steam cylinder 32. This breaker bar guide is integral with the breaker bar as shown in Fig. 6. As the coil is turned, the breaker bar guide maintains the breaker bar in the same peripheral position, but permits it to be advanced longitudinally. The breaker bar is then advanced by the coil operating on it after the manner of a screw or screw conveyor.

In the end wall of the casting I Ladjacent the position normally occupied by the breaker bar, I provide a breaker bar spring 18. .This spring forces the breaker bar over in a position to be engaged by the first convolution of the coil when the coil is turned in a direction to discharge the residue material. When the breaker bar has been advanced to the right hand side of the curb cylinder (looking at Fig. 2), it is prevented from being forced any further by the fact that there is no convolution of the coil extending far enough to further engage the breaker bar. When the breaker bar is to be advanced in an opposite direction, as, for example, happens when the press is charged it must initially be made to come into engagement with the coil. I may provide a spring similar to the spring 18' but I have found that I can secure the same results by merely advancing the hydraulic ram 31 a very short distance. It will be understood that there is sufiicient space for the breaker bar at the left hand end of the curb cylinder to avoid injury to either the breaker bar or coil by continuing to turn the coil after the breaker bar has reached its extreme position. As the coil is turned the spring is gradually compressed and then elongated as the end convolution of the coil engages it in turning. In operating the device. the oil bearing material is first prepared in any suitable way preferably according to the best prevailing practices. In general, this comprises grinding the material and heating it to a temperature high enough to cause the oil constituents to flow, but not high enough to impart any injury or cause any chemical action therein. The material in a warm condition, is then delivered to the hopper 69, and the motor'started to turn the spiral coil in a direction to advance the material until substantially all of the space between the coil sections is filled with the warm material. During the charging operation, the member H is, of course, turned so that the opening 13 is in alignment with the opening 61.

Oil is then forcedinto the hydraulic cylinder under pressure through the pipe 38. Any suit,- able pressure can, of course, be used, but I have found that a pressure of three thousand pounds per square inch with the construction shown will aiford a pressure of approximately five thousand pounds per square inch on the material, and this is ample to extract the oil in a relatively short length of time. The admission of oil under pressure to the hydraulic cylinder has the effect, of course, of forcing the ram in a direction to compress the coils. The distance between the coils is such that none of the oil pressed from the material has to travel any very great distance, and this facilitates the ready extraction of the oil from the base. This oil separation is also facilitated by the fact that steam, under relatively low pressure, is maintained within the steam cylinder, and this supplies continuous heat to the oil bearing material during the pressing operation. This heat is applied, of course, within the body of the material and has a greater effect than merely jacketing the outside of the press. It is not necessary to supply a large amount of heat, because it is understood that some heat is generated by the pressure on the material.

When pressure on the oil bearing material has been continued to a point where a satisfactory commercial extraction of oil therefrom has taken place, the hydraulic pressure in the cylinder 13 is released. The steam pressure in the steam cylinder is then sufiicient to actuate the piston 43, which returns the hydraulic ram to the position shown in Fig. 2. The handle 14 is then actuated to bring the port 12 opposite the discharge opening 69 and the motor 63 is started to turn the coil and convey the material toward the discharge opening. The conveying action of the coil starts at once, because the mere expansion of the spiral coil is sufficient to break up the caked material to some suitable degree. When the turning of the coil has been started, however, the breaker bar is immediately set in motion and advances along, coming in contact with every portion of the coil and greatly facilitating the discharge of the residue material. As the breaker bar advances, the press is gradually entirely emptied and is then ready for a fresh charge.

There are advantages in the use of an oil extracting mechanism of this character, in addition to the simplicity with which the mechanism is charged and discharged, and in addition to the efficiency with which the oil is extracted. The device lends itself to automatic or semi-automatic operation, as determinedby conditions, particularly the types of materials which are being treated. The mechanism may be operated automatically by any suitable type of time switch, whereby, at the end of a given pressure interval, determined empirically, the hydraulic pressure is.

released and the press isdischarged. The charging and discharging of the press may also be controlled on a time basis, or it may be controlled by any other suitable type of switch means operative by any moving part of the mechanism as, for example, by the extremes of movement of the breaker bar.

The machine of my invention was designed to be used for removing oil from oil bearing material, but it is understood that it may also be used for obtaining other extracts from natural material besides oil. It may be used also, for example, for expressing water from material which is to be recovered in a substantially dry state, or it may be used under certain circumstances to facilitate the extraction of mineral oil from shale. It will be understood that if the press is used with material that is to be pressed in a cold state, as, for example, fish livers, in the production of cod liver oil, steam may be omitted from the cylinder 32 and other fluid means, for example, compressed air, may be used for returning the hydraulic ram.

I describe the details of my invention to teach those skilled in the art how to practice the same. It is obvious that my invention is limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. In an oil extracting mechanism, a coil spring having fiat sides, means for supporting oil bearing material between the convolutions of the spring, and means for collapsing the spring to apply pressure to the material.

2. In an oil extracting mechanism, a coil spring, means for supplying oil bearing material to the spring, 168.118 for supporting the oil bearing material between the convolutions oi the spring, and means for collapsing the spring to apply pressure to the oil bearing material.

In an oil extracting mechanism, a coil spring, means for supplying oil bearing material to the spring, means for supporting the oil bearing material between the convolutions of the spring, means for collapsing the spring to apply pressure to the oil bearing material, and means for removing from between the convolutions of the coil spring the residue material remaining when the oil has been pressed from the oil bearing material.

4. In an oil extracting mechanism, a curb cylinder, a spiral spring having flat convolutions disposed within the curb cylinder, means for applying oil bearing material to the space between the convolutions of the spring, and means for applying pressure to the ends of the spring to press the material between the convolutions.

5. In an oil extracting mechanism, a curb cylinder, a spiral spring having flat convolutions disposed within the curb cylinder, means for applying oil bearing material to the space between the convolutions of the spring, means for applying pressure to the ends of the spring to press the material between the convolutions, and means for removing the residue material from between the convolutions after the oil has been pressed from the oil bearing material.

6. In an oil extracting mechanism, a curb cyl inder, a spiral spring having flat convolutions disposed within the cylinder, means for applying pressure to the ends of the spring to press the oil bearing material between the convolutions, and means for rotating the spiral spring to convey the material along the convolutions for charging or discharging the mechanism.

7. In'an oil extracting mechanism, a curb cylinder, a hydraulic cylinder substantially in alignment with the curb cylinder, a steam cylinder within the curb cylinder, a coil spring disposed around the steam cylinder and occupying the 5 space between the steam cylinder and curb cylinder, and a hydraulic ram substantiallyinalignment with the spring and adapted totapply pressure to the spring when the hydraulic pressure is applied to the hydraulic cylinder.

8. In an oil extracting mechanism, .a curb in either direction to cause the same to operate as a conveyor to receive material from said charging port or discharging material through said discharging port.

9. In an oil extractingmechanism, a curb cylinder, a coil spring disposed within the curb cylinder, a charging port in the curb cylinder, :3. discharging port in the curb cylinder, means for turning the spiral spring in either direction to cause the same to act as a conveyor whereby material is fed through said charging port or discharged through said discharging p'ort, and. means for applying pressure to the ends of the spring for compressing material between the convolutions of said spring.

10. In an oil extracting mechanism, a curb cylinder, a coil spring'disposed in said cylinder, a charging port in the cylinder, a discharging port in said cylinder, an electric motor having a driven shaft, a gear connection between said motor shaft and spiral spring for. rotating said spiral spring whereby said spiral spring operates as a conveyor for charging and discharging material, and means for applying pressure on said spring to press material between the convolutions thereof.

11. In an oil extracting mechanism, a curb cylinder, a steam cylinder disposed within the curb cylinder, a coil spring concentric with the' two cylinders and disposed between them, means for rotating the spring to convey material along the'spring for charging or discharging the mechanism, a breaker bar, means for causing the breaker bar to be advanced as the spring is turned to facilitate removal of solid residue from the cylinder, and means for compressing the spring for pressing material between the convolutions thereof. a

12. In an oil extracting mechanism, a curb cylinder, a steam cylinder within the curb cylinder, a coil spring disposed between the curb cylinder and steam cylinder, a hydraulic cylinder, a hydraulic ram for applying pressure to the end of the spring, means for supplying material to the space between the convolutions of the spring, a piston within the steam cylinder, and a connection between the steam piston and hydraulic 1'a1n for returning the hydraulic ram after pressure has been applied by the hydraulic ram to the'coil spring.

13. In an oil extracting mechanism, a curb cylinder comprising a plurality of spaced longitudinal curb members anda plurality of-supporting rings disposed around the longitudinal members, a spiral coil disposed Within the curb cylinder, a steam cylinder disposed within the coil, means for supplying oil bearing material to the space between the convolutions of the coil and means for applying pressure on the coil to press the oil from the oil bearing material, the entire mechanism being disposed at an angle to the horizontal to facilitate the flow of oil from the curb cylinder, and a trough disposed underneath the curb cylinder for receiving the expressed oil.

14. In an oil extracting mechanism, a curb cylinder comprising a plurality of spaced longi tudinal members and supporting rings disposed around the longitudinal members, a spiral coil disposed within the curb cylinder, a second cylin-- der disposed within the spiral coil, a charging opening within the curb cylinder, a discharging opening Within the curb cylinder, a worm gear carrying a plurality of rollers supported in an nular raceways in contiguous supporting rings, a Worm engaging said worm gear, a motor for driving said worm in either direction, a key carried by the worm gear and engaging in keyways in the periphery of the coil, whereby the spiral coil may be rotated to supply material thereto or discharge material therefrom through said openings, and means for compressing said spiral coil to press material between the convolutions thereof,

15. In an oil extracting mechanism, a curb cylinder comprising a plurality of spaced longitudinal members and supporting rings disposed around the longitudinal members, a spiral coil disposed within the curb cylinder, a second cylinder disposed within the spiral coil, a charging opening within the curb cylinder, a discharging opening Within the curb cylinder, a worm gear carrying a plurality of rollers supported in annular raceways in contiguous supporting rings, a Worm engaging said worm gear, a motor for driving said worm in either direction, a key carried by the worm gear and engaging in keyways in the periphery of the coil, whereby the spiral coil may be rotated to supply material thereto or dis charge material therefrom through said openings,

a hydraulic cylinder, a hydraulic ram, a piston within said steam cylinder, and a connection from the piston to the hydraulic ram for returning the hydraulic ram after pressure has been released from the spiral coil.

16. In an oil extracting mechanism, a curb cylinder, a hydraulic cylinder, a ram reciprocable in the hydraulic cylinder, a steam cylinder disposed within the curb cylinder and spaced from the inner wall thereof, means for charging material into the space between the curb cylinder and steam cylinder, means including said ram for pressing material confined within said space, and a piston disposed within the steam cylinder and having a connection with the ram whereby steam introduced into said steam cylinder is effective to return the ram.

17 An hydraulic press comprising in combination, a curb, continuous flexible means for providing a continuous material receiving compartment in the curb, and means for collapsing said flexible means to squeeze the contained material.

18. An hydraulic press comprising in combination, a curb, collapsible means for providing a continuous material receiving compartment in the curb, and means for collapsing said first means to squeeze the contained material.

19. An hydraulic press comprising in combination, a curb, continuous flexible spiral means for providing a continuous material receiving compartment in the curb and means for collapsing said first means to squeeze the contained material.

20. An hydraulic press comprising in combination, a curb having an annular compressing chamber, flexible continuous ribbon-like means for providing a continuous material receiving compartment in the chamber, and means for collapsing said first means to squeeze the contained material.

21. An hydraulic press comprising in combination, a curb, a member having a plurality of convolutions for providing a continuous material receiving compartment in the curb, and means for applying pressure to the ends of the member to squeeze the contained material.

LOUIS A. MOLIN. 

